NTAA News

Welcome to the newest NTAA Executive Committee Members:

• Vallen Cook of the Grand Portage Band of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe in Region 5
• Joseph Painter of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska in Region 7,

Thanks to Vallen and Joseph for their leadership with NTAA to advance  Tribal Air Programs!

NTAA – U.S. Tribal Nations Combat Air Pollution and Climate Change Without the Needed Federal Funding to Sustain and Build Tribal Air Quality Programs

The NTAA Executive Committee presented key findings from NTAA’s first national baseline needs assessment (BNA) for Tribal Air Programs. You can read the full report here, and the key findings here.

To help readers navigate the 110-page report, NTAA will be hosting a national webinar on Wednesday, June 15th at 2 ET. All members of the public are welcome to join the webinar. Follow this link to register to the event.

At NTAA’s Annual Meeting, the new one-hour NTAA film, “NTAA’s 20^th year anniversary” was screened. You can view the full film on NTAA’s “About Us” page here.

Last week, NTAA also published new Policy Resource Kits for Tribes to use that include fact sheets and template letters you and/or your Tribe can use to comment on:

• EPA’s proposed Ozone Transport Rule

The 2022 National Tribal Forum on Air Quality Recording Sessions Are Now Available!

Thanks to all who helped make the 2022 National Tribal Forum on Air Quality a complete success! You can view an amazing video and photos that capture the full NTFAQ that can be viewed here!

Top Stories

AP News – Critical fire condition warnings issued across US Southwest

CNN – Health and Human Services announces new office focused on the environmental risks to underserved communities

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes News

The Hill – Forest Service finds it was responsible for largest fire in New Mexico history

E&E News – Forest Service struggles to keep pace amid climate disasters

Vigour Times – Companies Rush To Cash In On EPA Rules For Capturing Methane Emissions

CV and More – Biden wants to “rebuild” the EPA. He doesn’t have the money to do it.

The Verge – Federal regulators crack down after pipeline caught spewing CO2

The Hill – Five things to watch for in next year’s ‘climate’ Farm Bill

NM Political Report – Delays in Navajo-Gallup pipeline mean new wells have to be drilled

Truthout – Indigenous Organizers in Alaska Lead the Way Toward Livable Climate Future

CNN – Disaster upon disaster: Wildfires are contaminating the West’s depleting water with ashy sludge

The Guardian – Do wood burners add to air pollution in cities? Yes, say citizen scientists

Here’s your link to this week’s NACAA Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

Vox – The Supreme Court just okayed Biden’s “social cost of carbon.” It’s still way too low.

Yale Climate Connection – Preserving democracy is part of preserving the planet

AP News – Weather’s unwanted guest: Nasty La Nina keeps popping up

E&E News – Are high energy prices displacing climate action in Congress?

The Hill – Climate activists frustrated as another deadline passes without spending deal

NPR – What this moment before midterms means for the Biden administration’s climate goals

Reuters – U.S. Senator Manchin could back climate provisions in slimmer spending bill, sources say

Canary Media – Why are blackouts looming? Blame extreme weather, not wind and solar

Marketplace – A 3-pronged approach to adopting clean power

CNN Business – Soon you’ll be able to buy solar panels at Ikea

ITEP Tribes and Climate Change Monthly Newsletter

Toxics/Mobile Sources

Axios – The world’s car buyers are ready to go electric

E&E News – Biden releases plan to avoid ‘dangerous’ CO2 pipeline failures

Business Insider – The price of key battery metals used in electric vehicle production is expected to fall in coming years 

CNN Travel – Faster, cleaner, greener: What lies ahead for the world’s railways

Utility Dive – Optimize rising renewables levels by increasing deployment of different types of energy storage: MIT

Axios – The great American road trip, electrified

AP News – Indy 500 waves green flag on sustainability with lofty goals

Indoor Air Quality

EOS – Indoor Air Pollution in the Time of Coronavirus

PR Newswire – Global Air Quality Monitoring Systems Market to Reach $5.8 Billion by 2026

Newswires – AI-Powered Mold and Air Quality Testing Now Available to Home Inspectors and Laboratories

NTAA News

Welcome to the newest NTAA Executive Committee Members:

• Vallen Cook of the Grand Portage Band of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe in Region 5
• Joseph Painter of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska in Region 7,

Thanks to Vallen and Joseph for their leadership with NTAA to advance  Tribal Air Programs!

NTAA – U.S. Tribal Nations Combat Air Pollution and Climate Change Without the Needed Federal Funding to Sustain and Build Tribal Air Quality Programs

The NTAA Executive Committee presented key findings from NTAA’s first national baseline needs assessment (BNA) for Tribal Air Programs. You can read the full report here, and the key findings here.

To help readers navigate the 110-page report, NTAA will be hosting a national webinar on Wednesday, June 15th at 2 ET. All members of the public are welcome to join the webinar. Follow this link to register to the event.

At NTAA’s Annual Meeting, the new one-hour NTAA film, “NTAA’s 20^th year anniversary” was screened. You can view the full film on NTAA’s “About Us” page here.

Last week, NTAA also published new Policy Resource Kits for Tribes to use that includes fact sheets and template letters you and/or your Tribe can use to comment on:

• EPA’s proposed Ozone Transport Rule

The 2022 National Tribal Forum on Air Quality Recording Sessions Are Now Available!

Thanks to all who helped make the 2022 National Tribal Forum on Air Quality a complete success! You can view an amazing video and photos that captures the full NTFAQ that can be viewed here

Top Stories

ABC News – 1 in 6 deaths worldwide attributed to pollution: Review

E&E News – EPA air nominee faces high-stakes confirmation hearing

CBS News – Major climate indicators set “alarming” records in 2021, the U.N. says, “bringing us ever closer to climate catastrophe”

Yale Climate Connections – NOAA expects another above-average Atlantic hurricane season

Indian Country Today – Coordinated response needed to respond to climate change effects on tribes

NM Political Report – Environmental groups release new oil and gas threats map

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes News

Gizmodo – Biden Admin Announces $3.5 Billion in Carbon Dioxide Removal Funding

E&E News – Community methane monitoring fills gaps left by EPA

E&E News – No ‘simple fix’: White House charts progress on EJ agenda

NPR – Native tribes celebrate Montana land ownership and bison range restoration

EPA – EPA Proposes to Protect Bristol Bay’s Salmon Fishery, Subsistence Fishing for Alaska Natives

Axios – Scoop: Sinema pushes to open up mining

Grist – In Minnesota, the PolyMet mine pits renewable energy needs against tribes and the EPA

NPR – How to stay safe in hurricanes, wildfires and summer’s intensity

The Guardian – Drought, heat and extreme wind bring ‘explosive fire behavior’ to US

NM Political Reporter – With climate change fueling wildfires, changes are needed to prevent worse scenarios

AP News – Better weather conditions aid crews working New Mexico fires

Here’s your link to this week’s NACAA Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

The Guardian – Global heating is cutting sleep across the world, study finds

The Guardian – Sharp cut in methane now could help avoid worst of climate crisis

Reuters – Another climate change lawsuit against Big Oil heads back to state court

Reuters – U.S. power and natural gas prices soar during spring heatwave

Reuters – U.S. climate envoy Kerry says Ukraine war no excuse to let up on climate fight

Vox – The problem of global energy inequity, explained by American refrigerators

E&E News – Biden under pressure to declare climate emergency

The Hill – Congressional progressives warn Biden, EU natural gas reliance may hurt climate goals

E&E News – FERC chair on grid: ‘The old way doesn’t work’

Mashable – 3 surprising ways to cope with climate change

CNBC – U.S. Navy climate plan calls to curb emissions, electrify vehicle fleet

ITEP Tribes and Climate Change Monthly Newsletter

Toxics/Mobile Sources

E&E News – Senators unload on Haaland, Granholm over gasoline prices

Los Angeles Times – California oil regulator confirms methane leak at idle oil wells in Bakersfield

The Guardian – Sharp cut in methane now could help avoid worst of climate crisis

E&E News – EPA advances on Pebble mine veto

WFAA – The planet-warming effects behind oil production in West Texas

Axios – Industry heavyweights unite in U.S. battery push

Indoor Air Quality

Bloomberg – I Used This $150 Device to Track My Covid Risk. I Got Covid Anyway

Institution of Mechanical Engineers – Effective ventilation for air quality and infection control

NTAA News

NTAA – U.S. Tribal Nations Combat Air Pollution and Climate Change Without the Needed Federal Funding to Sustain and Build Tribal Air Quality Programs

The NTAA EC (shown below) presented the key findings from NTAA’s first national baseline needs assessment (BNA) for Tribal Air Programs. You can read the full report here, and the key findings here.

To help readers navigate the 110-page report, NTAA will be hosting a national webinar on Wednesday, June 15th at 2 ET. All members of the public are welcome to join the webinar. Follow this link to register to the event.

At NTAA’s Annual Meeting, the new one-hour NTAA film,  “NTAA’s 20^th year anniversary” was screened. You can view the full film on NTAA’s “About Us” page here.

Last week, NTAA also published new Policy Resource Kits for Tribes to use that includes fact sheets and template letters you and/or your Tribe can use to comment on:

• EPA’s proposed Ozone Transport Rule
• EPA’s Clean Trucks Plan

This was the first in-person meeting of the NTAA Executive Committee, staff, partners, airheads and other and NTFAQ attendees in over 3 years and it was great to reconnect with all of you! Thanks to the NTAA Executive Committee and ITEP staff for their hard work and dedication and to everybody in the NTAA family who helped make a successful NTFAQ for 2022!

Top Stories

Buzzfeed News – Trump Broke The EPA. Biden Is Struggling To Fix It.

EPA – New Enforcement Strategy Advances President Biden’s Environmental Justice Agenda

Grist – A new Office of Environmental Justice is announced

Reuters – U.S. takes unprecedented steps to replenish Colorado River’s Lake Powell

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes News

Yes! Magazine – Muscogee Nation Turns to Cows to Build for the Future

Prism – Climate change is leaving its mark on Indigenous-owned food businesses

Reuters – New Mexico firefighters beg holdouts to evacuate village

AP – Biden to crack down on polluters in poor, minority areas

Indian Country Today – Raising awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous people

Grist – Indigenous climate migrants face unique challenges — with too few resources

Yale Climate Connections – Why a tool for reversing Trump era rules is seldom used

Here’s your link to this week’s NACAA Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

CNBC – Energy secretary explains why feds are spending $2.5 billion on carbon capture

The Navajo Times – ‘Please listen to us’: Diné allottees try to reclaim Chaco Canyon

Yale Climate Connections – Moms push Massachusetts utilities to transition to renewable heat sources

Thomson Reuters Foundation – As conflict and climate change bite, are high food prices here to stay?

Inside Climate News – ‘Stripped of Everything,’ Survivors of Colorado’s Most Destructive Fire Face Slow Recoveries and a Growing Climate Threat

Reuters – Explainer: Why are U.S. natural gas prices soaring?

Energy News Network – Iowa carbon pipeline opponents see lessons from Dakota Access fight

Energy Monitor – The birth of the carbon removal market

CNBC – Carbon capture challenges are not deterring investor at Bill Gates’ firm

ITEP Tribes and Climate Change Monthly Newsletter

Toxics/Mobile Sources

NM Political Report – New Mexico’s Clean Car Rule will go into effect July 1

Canary Media – Chart: Lithium prices are through the roof this year

Oil Price – The Next Frontiers In The Lithium Boom

Vox – The massive, unregulated source of plastic pollution you’ve probably never heard of

E&E News – Manchin open to methane fee in climate, energy talks

Indoor Air Quality

CMM – USGBC Releases New Report on Indoor Air Quality in Schools

Magnolia News – Indoor Air Quality Market Is Thriving Worldwide

Coatings World – New Center for Green Schools Report on Indoor Air Quality in our Schools

Top Stories

PBS News Hour – Oklahoma wants the Supreme Court to pull back part of its historic ruling on Native rights

Time – Warmer Winters Are Erasing Alaskan Native Traditions in the Arctic

Frontline – A Government Scientist Warned About Climate Change in 2001. Exxon Mobil Sought to Have Him Removed.

E&E – Western wildfires reverse US clean air gains — study

NTAA News

SEE YOU IN TULSA NEXT WEEK! In-person registration is now closed for the 2022 National Tribal Forum on Air Quality (NTFAQ), but you can still register virtually here! NTFAQ’s Planning Committees have been busy planning this year’s forum hosted by the Muscogee Nation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, May 2-5, 2022. You can find details on the NTFAQ agenda and NTAA’s Annual Meeting that will take place during NTFAQ on NTAA’s website here. Be sure to contact [email protected] if you have any questions!

Next week is Air Quality Awareness Week (AQAW)! If you will be at Muscogee’s River Spirit Casino Resort or anywhere else taking deep breaths next week, we look forward to celebrating #AQAW2022 with you! 

Our great AQ partners at the National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA) are excited for this year’s celebration and can’t wait for you to check out their “AQ IQ” through the daily trivia question on Twitter. Join in on the AQ fun!

Still planning your AQAW activities? Check out the AQAW Toolkit, which includes general information like this year’s theme, daily topics, and suggestions for ways to get involved. The Toolkit also contains our main AQAW social media accounts, hashtags, and sample social media posts.  If you have any questions about AQAW, please reach out to Rachel McIntosh-Kastrinsky ([email protected]) or Debra Lee ([email protected]).

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes News

New York Times – Wildfires Burn more than 150,000 Acres in Three States

The 19^th News – Pregnant people are at ‘greater risk’ in states hit hard by wildfire smoke, air pollution, new report shows

The Hill – The best and worst U.S. cities for air quality

CBS – Wood pellet industry may be falsely marketing itself as a green renewable energy source, critics say

NPR – More than 137 million Americans live in areas with poor air quality, report finds

High Country News – Interior is pushing states to replace derogatory place names with colonial ones

Phys.org – Microbial response to a changing and fire-prone arctic ecosystem

Here’s your link to this week’s NACAA Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

E&E News – Will Manchin’s bipartisan energy gambit bear fruit?

NPR – How climate change is affecting marginalized communities in Nevada

EPA – EPA Releases White Paper on Reducing Climate Pollution from New Gas-Fired Turbines

Navajo Times – ‘It’s proven technology’: DOE awards Kayenta’s Nááts’íílid Initiative $1.2M to power 24 homes

AP – Incandescent light bulbs being phased out to save energy

E&E News – Interior rule delays underscore Biden’s energy challenge

CNN – John Kerry is trying to convince the world to act on climate change. Russia’s war made it that much harder

ABC – Youth-led climate change lawsuits are increasing across the country

CBS – Fewer Americans see climate change as a priority than they did a year ago – CBS News poll

ITEP Tribes and Climate Change Monthly Newsletter

Toxics/Mobile Sources

Inside Climate News – EPA Opens Civil Rights Investigation Into Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’

The Hill – People of color more likely to be harmed by pesticides, study shows

Phys.org – Microplastics are everywhere, but their dangers largely remain a mystery, experts say

E&E News – Citing ‘clean energy,’ progressives mount mining law overhaul

NPR – Despite U.S. sanctions, oil traders help Russian oil reach global markets

Yale Environment – How U.S. Gas Exports to Europe Could Lock in Future Emissions

NPR – In an effort to make schools greener, the White House is offering billions of dollars

Indoor Air Quality

Scary Mommy – Researchers Are Ripping The Gas Stoves Out Of Their Houses For Their Kids’ Health

Forbes – Why Recent Announcements By The White House Around Indoor Air Quality Matter

New York Times – The White House emphasizes the importance of indoor air quality as the pandemic moves into a new phase

Top Stories

The Hill – Biden administration announces clean energy growth on public lands

E&E News – Biden restores climate to NEPA, undoing Trump’s efforts

NTAA News

Please join use in welcoming NTAA’s newest members, the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma and Lisa Gover! With the Ottawa Tribe’s membership, NTAA’s family of member Tribes has grown to 155 member Tribes! In addition, please join us in welcoming NTAA’s newest Associate Member, Lisa Gover, the Region 9 RTOC’s Policy Advisor. Congratulations to both Lisa and the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma! Be sure to learn more about NTAA membership here! 

In-person registration for the 2022 National Tribal Forum on Air Quality is now closed! But you can still register, virtually here! NTFAQ’s Planning Committees have been busy planning this year’s forum hosted by the Muscogee Nation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, May 2-5, 2022. You can find details on the NTFAQ agenda and NTAA’s Annual Meeting that will take place during NTFAQ on NTAA’s website here. Be sure to contact [email protected] if you have any questions!

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes News 

E&E News – White House announces Earth Day climate push

E&E News – Jackson confirmed to Supreme Court in bipartisan vote

Reuters – White House restores rule requiring stringent environmental review

Yale Climate Connections – NASA mission will monitor air pollution

KNAU – Environmental groups sue EPA over air pollution in national parks and other public lands

The Hill – Biden climate adviser pushes back on departure rumors

Native News Online – EPA Announces $1.6 million in Grant Funding to Support Tribal Water and Air Quality

Greenwire – Inside Biden’s sparsely staffed, high-pressure environmental shop

Indian Country Today – Proposal to restore sovereignty to tribes in Maine advances

Indian Country Today – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approves Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s water quality standards

Indian Country Today – In drought-stricken West, officials weigh emergency actions

The Hill – Trump-era EPA chief Scott Pruitt files to run for Senate in Oklahoma

Grist – How rights of nature and wild rice could stop a pipeline: Meet the Ojibwe attorney fighting a Line 3 expansion that threatens Indigenous rights and the environment

TV 6 News – EPA awards $75,000 grant to Keweenaw Bay Indian Community to assess pollution

Science Daily – Air pollution linked to higher risk of COVID-19 in young adults

Here’s your link to this week’s NACAA Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

Greenwire – Biden admin restarts oil leases on federal land

Energywire – Biden tosses $6B lifeline to save struggling nuclear plants

Indian Country Today – The toll of climate change, time, tradition and trust: The Navajo Nation takes on a changing climate

CNBC – Natural gas surges to highest level since 2008 as Russia’s war upends energy markets

E&E News – Mining for Clean Energy Could Undermine Biden’s Environmental Justice Goals

Reuters – IMF expects ‘significant’ pledges for new climate, pandemics trust

Reuters – Lawmaker Raskin sees hope for U.S. climate legislation this year

Grist – Cows, coal, and climate change: A Q&A with the new BLM director

ITEP Tribes and Climate Change Monthly Newsletter

Toxics/Mobile Sources

E&E News – How electric buses reduce toxic exposure for kids

US News and World Report – Boston to Replace School Buses With Electric Ones by 2030

CNBC – From the F-150 Lightning to Rivian, here are the 11 hottest electric vehicles coming out in 2022

Indoor Air Quality

E&E News – Gas ban 2.0: Building wars

Reuters – Omicron infection induces limited immune response in unvaccinated; COVID hospital deaths rise on weekends

Top Stories

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) – Federal program offers Tribes chance to turn “orphan” oil and gas wells into environmental and economic opportunity

NPR – For the first time, researchers find microplastics deep in the lungs of living people

NTAA News!

NTAA has published a white paper for your consideration: The Utilization of Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) Additional Impacts Analysis to Better Incorporate Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Address Environmental Justice in Air Quality Permitting Decisions.

The purpose of this white paper is to explore where discretion in the Clean Air Act sections 165(a)(2) and section 165(a)(6) could be used in combinations with direction of EO 13175, the Agency’s Indian policy, and the Agency’s Indian Policy and Policy on Treaty Rights and EO 12898 on environmental justice, can provide for consideration of Tribal concerns, Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Environmental Justice, in decisions on issuing permits. You can find the white paper on NTAA’s website policy resource kit tab.

Registration for the 2022 National Tribal Forum on Air Quality is now open! Click here to register to attend in-person or virtually. NTFAQ’s Planning Committees have been busy planning this year’s forum hosted by the Miscogee Nation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, May 2-5, 2022. You can learn more about the NTFAQ and NTAA’s Annual Meeting that will take place during NTFAQ on NTAA’s website here. Be sure to contact [email protected] if you have any questions!

2 Weeks Left for Call For Proposals for The National Tribal & Indigenous Climate Conference!

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) Tribes and Climate Change Program announced the opening for the call for proposals for the upcoming 2022 National Tribal & Indigenous Climate Conference (NTICC) in St. Paul, MN and online August 29 – September 1, 2022.

We welcome proposals that discuss climate-related impacts, assessments, tools, adaptation, mitigation, actions, and the intersection of Traditional/Indigenous Knowledges with western science and adaptation strategies and are accepting both in-person and virtual proposals. Proposal submissions include: Presentations, Trainings, Working Groups, & Climate Conversations

We are particularly excited about our new Climate Conversation proposal category which is seeking submissions for art, games, posters, demonstrations, films, and more to further engage NTICC attendees in Tribal climate work.

Application deadline: Friday, April 22^nd by close of business

Letter of notification: Monday, June 6^th

Materials deadline: Friday, August 5th

For more information and to apply, please visit our website.

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes News

Alamogordo Daily News – Mescalero Apache students study air quality on Mescalero Reservation

Gizmodo – ‘Cancer Alley’ Residents Accuse Louisiana of Racial Discrimination in EPA Pollution Complaints

Bloomberg – ‘Barrage’ of Air Emission Rules to Bring Challenges for Industry

HuffPost – White House Launches $1 Billion Program To Boost Conservation Goal

The Hill – Poorer countries fall further behind on green COVID recovery spending

AP News – EPA probes environmental justice in Louisiana projects

Energy Monitor – Here is Joe Biden’s plan to build a 21st-century power grid

Canary Media – Carbon storage gets dirty: The movement to sequester CO2 in soils

CNN – Mattel releases its first carbon neutral toys, including a Matchbox Tesla

Here’s your link to this week’s NACAA Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

Seattle Times – Study: Keeping climate pledges limits warming to 2 degrees

Anchorage Daily News – Into the ice: Snow crab decline hits Bering Sea island community of St. Paul

The Guardian – Teen climate activist subjected to sexist and racist abuse amid federal court climate case

The Hill – Majorities in US back climate change proposals: Gallup

Energy Monitor – Climate neutrality requires a massive scale-up of wind and solar power. Grid-scale energy storage will be essential for when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow. Pumped hydro is back.

Canary Media – Home water heaters: A new ally in making grids cleaner

JD Supra – US Supreme Court Case Questions Extent of EPA’s Authority to Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Ultity Dive – Rapid development could push cost of hydrogen below $2/kg in the next 10-20 years, analysts say

Green Biz – How the White House plans to tackle climate change in disadvantaged communities

Utility Dive – House climate committee hearing on efficiency delves into pipeline policy, gas bans, China and Putin

E&E News – Democrats search for sweet spot on gas prices, climate goals

Utility Dive – Clean energy sector eyes window for passing federal tax breaks amid challenge of high energy prices

ITEP Tribes and Climate Change Monthly Newsletter       

Toxics/Mobile Sources

EPA – EPA Announces Plan to Protect Endangered Species and Support Sustainable Agriculture

Axios – Here come the EVs

NPR – In an exception to the Clean Air Act, Biden will allow E15 gas to be sold this summer

NPR – Will electric pickup trucks get rural America to switch from gas to electric?

Reuters – Mercedes-Benz to halve CO2 emissions by 2030

The Guardian – Methane in Earth’s atmosphere rose by record amount last year, US government data shows

CNBC – Elon Musk says Tesla may have to get into the lithium business because costs are so ‘insane’

E&E News – Federal study suggests Calif. EVs are bending gasoline curve

Now This – GM and Honda Are Working Together To Create Cheaper Electric Vehicles

Popular Science – Hertz wants to accelerate its efforts to rent electric vehicles

Indoor Air Quality

Yahoo Finance – Little Rock School District Reports Positive Impact On In-Person Learning After Installation of Air Purifiers in Schools

Clevland Scene – Improving Indoor Air Quality is One Way We Can Do Better Than Pre-Pandemic ‘Normal’

Top Stories

EPA – The American Indian Environmental Office is requesting your input on the Draft 2022 Guidance on the Award and Management of Indian Environmental General Assistance Program Assistance Agreements for Tribes and Intertribal Consortia (2022 GAP Guidance).  

AP – New vehicles must average 40 mpg by 2026, up from 28 mpg

NTAA News!

NTAA has published a white paper today! You can read NTAA’s White Paper on the Utilization of Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) Additional Impacts Analysis to Better Incorporate Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Address Environmental Justice in Air Quality Permitting Decisions here!

The purpose of this white paper is to explore where discretion in the Clean Air Act sections 165(a)(2) and section 165(a)(6) could be used in combinations with direction of EO 13175, the Agency’s Indian policy, and the Agency’s Indian Policy and Policy on Treaty Rights and EO 12898 on environmental justice, can provide for consideration of Tribal concerns, Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Environmental Justice, in decisions on issuing permits. You can find the white paper on NTAA’s website policy resource kit tab.

If you are headed to Tulsa for this year’s National Tribal Forum on Air Quality, be sure to book your travel soon!

Registration for the 2022 National Tribal Forum on Air Quality is now open! Click here to register to attend in-person or virtually. NTFAQ’s Planning Committees have been busy planning this year’s forum hosted by the Muscogee Nation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, May 2-5, 2022. You can learn more about the NTFAQ and NTAA’s Annual Meeting that will take place during NTFAQ on NTAA’s website here. Be sure to contact [email protected] if you have any questions!

The Call For Proposals for The National Tribal & Indigenous Climate Conference is now open!

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) Tribes and Climate Change Program announced the opening for the call for proposals for the upcoming 2022 National Tribal & Indigenous Climate Conference (NTICC) in St. Paul, MN and online August 29 – September 1, 2022.

We welcome proposals that discuss climate-related impacts, assessments, tools, adaptation, mitigation, actions, and the intersection of Traditional/Indigenous Knowledges with western science and adaptation strategies and are accepting both in-person and virtual proposals. Proposal submissions include: Presentations, Trainings, Working Groups, & Climate Conversations

We are particularly excited about our new Climate Conversation proposal category which is seeking submissions for art, games, posters, demonstrations, films, and more to further engage NTICC attendees in Tribal climate work.

Application deadline: Friday, April 22^nd by close of business

Letter of notification: Monday, June 6^th

Materials deadline: Friday, August 5th

For more information and to apply, please visit our website.

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes News

Forest Declaration Platform – Sink or swim: How Indigenous and community lands can make or break nationally determined contributions

HuffPost – Inside The Contentious Leadership Battle At The Nation’s Biggest Environmental Group 

The Hill – EPA revives Obama-era rule removing emergency liability protection for polluters

E&E News – Regan on the Hill to defend EPA’s spending, staffing plan

Native News Online – Oklahoma Governor Faces Pushback from Native Americans for “Indian Card” Comments Made on Fox News

Native News Online – Community Investments Will Grow a Healthier Cherokee Nation

E&E News – EPA plots asbestos ban in landmark rule

Canary Media – Carbon removal now ​‘unavoidable’ part of fighting climate change, UN says

Green Media – Poor Air Quality Affects 99 Percent of Humanity, Per New WHO Data — What We Can Do

Here’s your link to this week’s NACAA Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

AP – UN warns Earth ‘firmly on track toward an unlivable world’

Axios – Biden seeks a crosswalk between oil and clean energy

CNBC – Biden’s top economic advisor says restarting the Keystone XL pipeline now won’t lower oil prices

The Hill – Will Biden’s SPR release lower gas prices?

Reuters – Climate change could cost U.S. budget $2 trillion a year by the end of the century, White House says

DeSmog – Biden’s Call to Increase LNG Export Capacity on Gulf Coast is Tantamount To Sarah Palin’s Call to ‘Drill Baby Drill’ According to Environmental Advocates

Canary Media – A deeper dive into 24/7 carbon-free energy

NY Mag – Once Again, Environmentalists Are Sabotaging Climate Progress

ClimateWire – Business-GOP alliance crumbles over climate

Axios – White House climate adviser: “We can no longer wait” to cut emissions

Energy Monitor – Do renewables need carbon markets?

ITEP Tribes and Climate Change Monthly Newsletter

Toxics/Mobile Sources

Utility Dive – Biden invokes Defense Production Act to bolster domestic battery manufacturing for EVs, energy storage

The Hill – EV leaders want Biden to be more aggressive with Defense Production Act

E&E News – Biden’s Defense Production Act order promises money to miners

Reuters – Carmakers dream of clean, green, mean electric machines 

CNN – Hertz to buy up to 65,000 electric cars from Polestar

Oil Price – Tight Supply Sends U.S. East Coast Jet Fuel Price Surging

Washington Examinar – Daily on Energy: Manchin pumps the brakes on Biden electric vehicle push

Yale Examinar – As EV Sales Soar, Automakers Back Higher Fuel Standards

Axios – GM CEO says hybrid work helped speed up EV program

Indoor Air Quality

The News – Feds to Step Up Indoor Air Quality Efforts

E&E News – White House aims for energy-efficient, Covid-safe schools

Science News – We can do better than what was ‘normal’ before the pandemic

Top Stories

EPA – EPA Releases Final Strategic Plan to Protect Public Health, Address Climate Change, and Advance Environmental Justice and Equity

EPA – Statement by EPA Administrator Regan on the President’s Fiscal Year 2023 Budget

E&E News – Inside Biden’s $5.8T budget: More for climate, clean energy

NTAA News!

Registration for the 2022 National Tribal Forum on Air Quality is now open! Click here to register to attend in-person or virtually. NTFAQ’s Planning Committees have been busy planning this year’s forum hosted by the Miscogee Nation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, May 2-5, 2022. You can learn more about the NTFAQ and NTAA’s Annual Meeting that will take place during NTFAQ on NTAA’s website here. Be sure to contact [email protected] if you have any questions!

Call For Proposals for The National Tribal & Indigenous Climate Conference is now open!

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) Tribes and Climate Change Program announced the opening for the call for proposals for the upcoming 2022 National Tribal & Indigenous Climate Conference (NTICC) in St. Paul, MN and online August 29 – September 1, 2022.

We welcome proposals that discuss climate-related impacts, assessments, tools, adaptation, mitigation, actions, and the intersection of Traditional/Indigenous Knowledges with western science and adaptation strategies and are accepting both in-person and virtual proposals. Proposal submissions include: Presentations, Trainings, Working Groups, & Climate Conversations

We are particularly excited about our new Climate Conversation proposal category which is seeking submissions for art, games, posters, demonstrations, films, and more to further engage NTICC attendees in Tribal climate work.

Application deadline: Friday, April 22^nd by close of business

Letter of notification: Monday, June 6^th

Materials deadline: Friday, August 5th

For more information and to apply, please visit our website.

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes News

Daily Beast – Ukraine Officials Afraid Chernobyl’s Forest Fires Will Spread Radiation

The Washington Post – Large fires becoming even larger, more widespread

Indian Country Today – Creating new paths to leadership

Indian Country Today – Indigenous leaders tell pope of abuses at residential schools

Native News Online – Tribes Awarded Nearly $9 Million to Fund Energy

CNBC – Exxon is mining bitcoin in North Dakota as part of its plan to slash emissions

Here’s your link to this week’s NACAA Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

Axios – Biden’s careful embrace of U.S. gas for Europe

Inside Climate News – With Biden in Europe Promising to Expedite U.S. LNG Exports, Environmentalists on the Gulf Coast Say, Not So Fast

The Tyee – Should Fossil Fuel Companies Get to Teach Kids about Climate Change?

Reuters – U.S. sets May offshore wind auction for areas off the Carolinas

E&E News – Will Biden use the Defense Production Act to boost mining?

CNN – Manchin engaging with Biden administration on new climate and economic bill but timeline unclear

Politico – Biden’s most effective climate warrior faces potential doom in the Senate

Utility Dive – Grid-scale storage installations tripled to a record 3 GW in 2021: report

Yale Climate Connections – A simple way cities can make it easier for people to go solar

ITEP Tribes and Climate Change Monthly Newsletter

Toxics/Mobile Sources

Fortune – Tiny particles of plastic have been detected in human blood for the very first time. They can’t be filtered out

Canary Media – Amid backlash, USPS orders more EVs — but will still mostly run on gas

NPR – Gas prices got you wanting an electric or hybrid car? Well, good luck finding one

Canary Media – Major airlines are getting serious about hydrogen-powered planes

Axios – Major fast food companies pledge to phase out “forever chemicals”

CCJ Digital – Christenson Transportation set to roll out 500 autonomous trucks, operate nearly around the clock

JD Supra – Tenth Circuit Decision Reinforces Federal Clean Air Act Citizen Suits Against Mobile Sources

JD Supra – SEC Proposed Rule on Climate-Related Disclosures: A Look at Scope 3 Emissions Reporting Requirements

Indoor Air Quality

NPR – Indoor Air Quality is Cool for Schools

McKnights – White House pivots to air quality focus for COVID-19 infection control

Jackson Lewis – EPA Publishes Best Practices for Indoor Air Quality in Combating COVID-19

Top Stories

EPA – EPA Announces Availability of up to $1.6 Million in Environmental Justice Grants for Tribal Public Participation Project

EPA – Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Selected for $489,155 Grant to Upgrade Municipal Fleet to Reduce Emissions from Diesel Vehicles

EPA is developing a new website and will post more information in the coming months about the Clean School Bus Program here!

For more information, EPA is also hosting a Webinar on March 23^rd at 1:00 pm EST. You can register and log on here! EPA’s new page will feature information about electric and alternative fuel buses, technical resources for feets about infrastructure considerations, information about upcoming funding opportunities, and details about how to apply.

NTAA News!

Registration for the 2022 National Tribal Forum on Air Quality is now open! Click here to register to attend in-person or virtually. NTFAQ’s Planning Committees have been busy planning this year’s forum hosted by the Miscogee Nation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, May 2-5, 2022. You can learn more about the NTFAQ and NTAA’s Annual Meeting that will take place during NTFAQ on NTAA’s website here. Be sure to contact [email protected] if you have any questions!

Call For Proposals for The Nationa Tribal & Indigenous Climate Conference is now open!

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) Tribes and Climate Change Program announced the opening for the call for proposals for the upcoming 2022 National Tribal & Indigenous Climate Conference (NTICC) in St. Paul, MN and online August 29 – September 1, 2022.

We welcome proposals that discuss climate-related impacts, assessments, tools, adaptation, mitigation, actions, and the intersection of Traditional/Indigenous Knowledges with western science and adaptation strategies and are accepting both in-person and virtual proposals. Proposal submissions include: Presentations, Trainings, Working Groups, & Climate Conversations

We are particularly excited about our new Climate Conversation proposal category which is seeking submissions for art, games, posters, demonstrations, films, and more to further engage NTICC attendees in Tribal climate work.

Application deadline: Friday, April 22^nd by close of business

Letter of notification: Monday, June 6^th

Materials deadline: Friday, August 5th

For more information and to apply, please visit our website.

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes News

E&E News – EPA chemical review tool sparks environmental justice worries

Utility Dive – Virginia report lays groundwork for state’s exit from regional emissions trading group

Inside Climate News – ‘Last Gasp for Coal’ Saw Illinois Plants Crank up Emission-Spewing Production Last Year

NM Political Report – EMNRD officials say eminent domain will not be part of 30×30

AP News – California governor floats $100M plan for tribes to buy land

Utility Dive – Senate bill directs FERC to bolster interregional transmission planning, require GHG reporting

Native News Online – Virtual National Tribal Public Health Summit elevates public health policy and its impact on Tribes

Indian Country Today – National Congress of American Indians announces renewed vision

Here’s your link to this week’s NACAA Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

Reuters – Biden administration plans to resume plans for federal oil and gas development

The Guardian – Heatwaves at both of Earth’s poles alarm climate scientists

19^th News – Gender equality, climate and environmental issues take center stage at the United Nations

The Guardian – After Ukraine, how will the world replace Russia’s oil products?

Ap News – UN chief: Don’t let Russia crisis fuel climate destruction

The Atlantic – America’s Approach to Energy Security Is Broken

Axios – Behind the curtain of the UN’s climate panel

E&E News – Biden Supreme Court nominee faces big climate questions

USA Today – How will climate change impact American companies? The SEC unveils landmark proposal

E&E News – BLM staffers want more action on climate change, survey says

E&E News – Limitless clean power? White House makes risky bet on fusion

ITEP Tribes and Climate Change Monthly Newsletter

Toxics/Mobile Sources

Denver Post – Opinion: The EPA can reject Suncor’s pollution permit for Plant 2

CNN – Oil ’emergency’: Work from home and drive slower, IEA says

Axios – Axios Climate Truths: Race to net zero

Axios – 1. The Race to net zero emissions

Axios – Scoop: White House considered sending Americans gas cards

The Verge – Ford F-150 Lightning gets an EPA-confirmed range of up to 320 miles

Indoor Air Quality

E&E News – EPA helms White House indoor air plan to help fight Covid-19

EPA – EPA Announces the “Clean Air in Buildings Challenge” to Help Building Owners and Operators Improve Indoor Air Quality and Protect Public Health

Facility Executive – EPA Launches Clean Air In Buildings Challenge To Improve IAQ